Blogging has brought a new dimension to my life where I can pen my thoughts, pent up feelings, fear, pain without any fear of remorse; where I am, at times, alone but Never Really alone in blogsphere. A place that I can almost call, "Home" where I can just blog away about anything that touches my heart strings. However do remember the recipes I upload are what I have learnt and the notes are my personal notes and the remarks are my own opinion.

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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Pon Teh is a traditional Nyonya dish which every Nyonya should have in her repertoire and it definitely taste much better the next day as by then the meat would have infused in the gravy. For those who are not familiar with this dish, you can braise this dish, either with Chicken or Belly Pork and I opt for the latter because the next day, the meat is still intact and having some fats on the meat makes for a smoother texture.

I learnt this dish from my esteemed Mother in Law, one of the best Nyonya cooks that I know; she can even make the most simple dish more tasty; perhaps I am biasedas she does have some "magic" in her fingers and whenever she presents the food on the dining table, you can rest assured that she would have wiped the rim of bowl or plate clean and the food would be neatly stacked; one fantastic Nyonya. Haha, one con in having a fantastic cook in your MIL is that yr better half will at some time or rather, unintentionally, say, with no malice intended, "Mummy did not add this!!!" Thank goodness it is Not, "Mum WAS a better cook than you", haha, I probably would have stage a boycot and not cook a couple of meals. Sorry for deviating, I was saying as I learnt this from my MIL, there is no Exact measurement of any ingredient and as I know this dish like the back of my palm, sorry, I never measured Everything :( but dont worry it is a fool proof recipe if it is not up to yr taste adjust with salt and a little sugar. Mum just shared with me that except for the shallots & garlic, there is no hard and fast rule. She told me that the shallots should be 50% more than the garlic and though she may have passed away in 1988, I always remember what she taught me in the cooking department, thanks Mum for being a good mentor. RIP mum. Ophelia

Boil the mushrooms in some hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. It is much faster to boil the mushrooms than to soak then in hot water :) .

Fry the pounded Shallots in sufficient oil than the Garlic and grounded Tau Cheong till fragrant.

Add in the meat. Stir fry for 5 minutes in order to seal in the juices [this way, your meat will be moist].

Add in sufficient water, Black Soya Sauce, mushrooms & bring it to a boil. Once boiling reduce fire to medium low & simmer for 40 minutes till belly pork is cooked. [As potatoes cook quite fast, ADD Potatoes after 20 minutes of simmering [*Add Salt & Sugar Now] and let it further simmer for another 20 minutes i.e. Total cooking time approximately 40 minutes]. Another tip is if you prefer to have a slightly more thicker consistency, add mash a few of the cooked potato and then at the end of cooking but I would rather not as next day the gravy gets thicker [It always taste better the next day].

Comments:-

1. To really get a feel good feeling, you Must make sambal belacan; squeeze limau kasturi juice and eat this together with some fried Salted Fish and Pon Teh as Pon Teh is rather bland and needs the Sambal Belacan to jazz things up. I am also terrible; From young, and still do, I love to pour quite a bit of gravy on my rice and then mix quite a bit of sambal belacan on it and after eating, I would slurp the soup off my plate, yummilicious!!! If you havent made Pon Teh, try it and you would find it is a good comfort food.

2. I like to add Salt [IF NECESSARY] after 20 minutes of simmering as I like to "kid" myself as then some of the water would have evaporated and I would use slighty less than if at the Very beginning and to put it then would be better than at the last minute as you would allow the Salt and Sugar to infuse the meat and the gravy.

3. Sugar is my own concotion as I believe you need to add in a little to sort of balance off the flavour :)

4. Belly meat is better as if you were to eat just the lean meat alone, the lean meat would not be tender and succulent.

5. The dish taste better the next day as then it would have, more time, to infuse properly in the flavourful gravy.

6. Chicken wings and whole chicken leg can be substituted in place of Belly Pork. I dont mind the chicken but next day when you warm it up to eat; sometimes the chicken meat may disintergrate.

7. If you abhor using sugar, try using instead a chucky piece of Turnip/Seng Kuang/Bangkuang for a natural sweetness. Before adding it in, I like to use a knife and poke it around to encourage the juice to come out easily :) but this is a sway from the norm, at one of my classes where Pon Teh was one of the things the Chef was teaching, he used theTurnip.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Most Indians, if you ask them, what is their favourite food. They would probably tell you, "Mutton/Chicken Paratal" and will probably add that their mum makes the best Paratal and I would have to definitely agree as whenever I am invited for Deepavali celebration, the Mutton Paratal is definitely going to be on the fantastic spread, amongst other signature dishes and you will find that in each Indian household there will be a great Chef; or maybe two; mum and grandmother and they will each have their own well tried recipes handed down from grandmother to mother and at times, a safely guarded family recipe. A Paratal is a semi dried curry.

I learnt this special Mutton Paratal from a reknown Indian Chef. Hope you enjoy making same for your family.

Heat kwali with ghee, fry Big Onion short while then add "D" stir fry short while then add in "A" stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes then cover it & cook for 5 - 10 minutes, checking it so that it does not burn.

Curry leaves : we were taught in class to add the curry leaves towards the end of cooking time if you want a strong aroma and to crush it with the palm of yr hand just before throwing them in the pot; this way you will get a better waft;

Ghee is clarified butter and when you cook Indian cuisine it is good to use ghee for an authetic taste.

Sorry in respect of the 400 ml Second Santan, it should be 100 ml thick Santan mixed with 300 ml Water. When I first uploaded this recipe I typed "100 ml thick Santan mixed with 350 ml Water; typo error :(

This is a simple recipe that does not have much prep work and taste good. You will note that it is a revolutionary style of cooking ie that the rempah is marinated with the beef & not tumis/fried with oil first. Serve the Rendang with Chicken Curry and Roti Jala; both recipes in my blog.

Marinade the beef with the blended ingredients in the fridge for 2 hour for all the flavour to infuse the meat.

Remove beef from fridge & thaw for 30 - 45 minutes.

Place beef & "D" ie the thin Santan, "B" AND "E" in a large pot. Bring it to a boil Then Reduce fire to medium low to simmer; stirring occasionally till liquid almost evaporated; a red film of oil will start to rise to the surface.

Pound the Kunyit till fine, tie it in a muslim cloth & place this and the Assam Keping in the basin of glutinous rice and soak overnite.

Next day discard the Assam Keping & kunyit & rinse rice in several changes of water, handling the rice carefully to avoid breaking the grains. Place rice on a siever to drain the water.

Boil water in the steamer.

Line the base of a shallow cake tin with the pandan leaves [shredded lengthwise to release the aroma]. Place the drained rice over the pandan leaves & steam over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes.

Stir the salt into the fresh Santan. Transfer the steamed rice into a large bowl & gradually add the santan, stiring it well using a wooden spoon. The rice will absorb the coconut milk. Add the pepper corns.

Transfer the rice back to the shallow cake tin & steam again for another 20 minutes.

Serve the nasi kunyit with either Chicken Curry or Rendang or better still both.

Comments - It is sometimes difficult to gauge the amount of santan solution as it depends on the glutinous rice. Sometimes the glutinous rice needs 250 ml Santan solution and the Chef gave us as a guide between 250 - 300 ml Santan solution. I would suggest that you do not use all the 300 ml, retain 50 ml and check whether the rice is cooked after the second steaming time of 20 minutes. If rice is slightly gritty add the balance 50 ml, stir it well and steam again for perhaps 5 minutes more :)

In my next post I will blog on Rendang. Till my next post, xoxo, Ophelia.

I tried, on the spur of the moment to concoct making my own version of a curry without the use of Santan and as better half is an ardent believer that without santan, the curry wont have any kick, I made this "Santanless" curry with Belly meat and then served it with my Roti Jala 3 nites ago. After dinner I asked how was the curry and the response was in the affirmative and that's when I said that there was no santan at all in the curry. On hindsight I really wish I had addressed his penchant for santan a long time ago :( Ophelia

Use the oil in the same frying pan and add a little more oil if not enough, heat it & fry "C" [squeeze the curry leaves just before adding to the hot oil to release its aroma].

Add in the thawed marinated chicken & stir fry for 3 minutes to seal the juice.

Add in "D" and stir fry for 2 minutes for all the curry flavour to infuse in the potatoes & tomato.

Add in "E" and the seasoning & cook on medium low fire till potates and chicken/belly pork are cooked approximately 25 minutes; bearing in mind chicken cooks faster than belly pork and make sure you dont over cook the chicken. Check for taste and adjust accordingly.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I find that this so astonishing true as it holds so much wisdom in just two short, simple lines and a powerful message gets across and sometimes you may never know that by posting things like these, we may bring some kind of healing and touch someone's life and for those troubled souls, this one, especially, for you and I hope it did bring a ray of sunshine and a promise of better tomorrows and it did remind me of God's promise that HE brought you there and HE will surely bring you out. Trust in HIM. Praise the Lord, Allelulia. God bless and thank you Joc for this msg.

"Life is made up of little moments; cherish the good ones and hold them close to your heart. Let go of the bad ones and just move on".

This is an easy version using agar agar, which works like a charm & then setting it in individual small cups/small tupperware containers, covering same or cling wrap & then refrigerating it.. Let's start by doing the syrup first. Ophelia

Ingredients for Syrup

200 gm Palm Sugar/Gula Melaka, roughly chop for faster melting
100 ml Water
2 Pandan leaves, make a few shred then tie into a knot.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I think most of us Malaysian grew up eating Nasi Lemak and it sort of became a staple diet; even the simple packet of Nasi Lemak with sambal, a quarter of an egg, a few fried Ikan Bilis & peanuts which we can buy on the foot path in front of shops or at gas station do taste absolutely good especially if you have just returned from quite a long trip overseas; haha you sort of crave for it And we did exactly that, we bought Nasi Lemak to satisfy our quest for Malaysian breakfast and for those of you abroad, Sen Hon and Wei-xun, this is especially for you both dear :), and for any of our children studying abroad it is with you in mind that I am posting this.

Wash Pandan leaves. Shred/tear it on both ends but not the the very extreme ends [as otherwise cant make into a knot] then tie into a knot. Then crush it with your palm. [When you shred & then crush the leaes or any herb for that matter, it encourages them to release its fragrance/oil]

Place rice, if possible, in a large siever & wash it in several changes of water & shake the siever while doing so. This way the chances of the grains breaking is lessen :) Place in a rice cooer with the water, santan, salt & pandan leaves.

I just returned from a quiet retreat and while away I was itching to come back so that I could place my impatient fingers on the keyboard and blog away; anything that came to mind and today I blogged quite a few posts to satisfy a hunger for writing and an outlet to post on my passion for baking and cooking. I just started blogging half a year ago and I didnt know how I existed before then. I supposed telly was my interest then these days except for a few interesting shows, I find myself drawn more and more to my blog and face book.

Rinse chicken & Pat dry with paper kitchen towel. Season lightly with 1/2 teasp salt for 10 minutes while you prepare the rempah.

Blend "B" into a fine paste [rempah].

Heat 1 cup oil in a wok over medium heat & fry the chicken in two batches in order to seal the juices; stirring about 5 minutes in total. Drain & remove chicken.

Pour out all but 4 Tabsp of oil in the wok that was used to fry the chicken [as the oil has umps of flavour] & fry the Onion rings for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the onion rings; leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible.

Fry the blended rempah over medium heat until fragrant & oil separates [tip: Most Nyonya cooks will swear that if there isn't suffient oil to fry the rempah, yr curry wont taste good. My better half, being a Baba, stands by this fact, his mum being a truly wonderful cook, and even though I am health conscious, I would have to agree with both his mum and him and the only way I would ease my conscious is to scope excess oil once it is cooked and fry veg with just enough oil].

Add the seasoning ie "D" & cook for 3 - 5 minutes.

Add "E" bring this to a boil & then return the chicken into the wok. Simmer for 5 minutes, taste & adding any salt or sugar if necessary. Lastly add the fried Onion rings cook for another minute. If you like you can garnish with a few sprigs of Yin Sai/celery leaves.

It would be better if you cook this in the afternoon and warm it up & serve it for dinner to give time for the food to infuse. Till my next post, xoxo, Ophelia

Feed back - When I go for any class, I usually go with no expectation so that when I do find the class good, I come back with a light fuzzy feeling in my head, waiting with anticipation to reproduce what I learnt and that is my basic concept to life, no expectations so that when things dont work out, you dont feel so disappointed but when you do find something really good, it is really a pretty good feeling that the joy can be triple.

Sorry for swaying from what I wanted to say on the onset in respect of this class. I came out from it, enriched, learning so much in terms of presentation esp when you want to do this as a sit in dinner. The Chefs displayed each condiment in beautiful individual bowls and these bowls were then placed in a big round platter and the noodles were placed in bowls on the dinning table and the "soup" was warming away in a electric steam boat on a side table; simmering gently away to the tune of pleasant soft music and the sweet aromatic waft coming from the electric steam boat was almost electrifying; it was almost like sheer extesy when the soft gentle growls from our tummy swayed in tanden with the music :) :) :)

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat & fry fish cakes for 2 - 3 mintues per side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon & place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Serve with a dipping sauce.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

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This dish is dedicated to Sarah, yes this is Ju's "Pork Curry", hope you do try this sometimes. This dish is my daughter's favourite and whenever I cook this dish, I just have to text her that I made it for dinner and she will try her very best, come rain or shine, to come back to eat same unless of course if she had a prior appointment but Then, it doesnt really matter if she cant make it to the dinner table as it sure does taste absolutely better the next day as normally most food needs a little time to sort of infuse together and she has told her friends that she coined it as Pork "Curry" as it has a spicy taste from the dried chillies used in the dish, a dish she never gets tried off!!! And this dish was the first recipe that I printed to include in a folder each that I am starting to compile for my children, my legacy to them so that when I am no longer around, they would not be "stranded" as their favourite recipes would be in a folder for each of them as it is very usual, when that time do happen, for siblings to ask each other, "Do you know how to make mummy's .....?" and of course as everyone is so busy in their separate lives, working or otherwise, they would not have the time to learn their favourites and I love the doing the things that I learnt as everything is weighed so for those who love consistency in their food, like yours truly here, 99.9% of what I post is measured this is just the thing because then there would not be any "hit and run", the food would always taste the same. Whenever I cook the things that I learnt, my recipe and a pencil will always be on the kitchen counter and if I made a few changes to suit my taste bud and personalise it, I would always minute it down. These are my own tips that I like to share with you too. And then again there are those who prefer to just know what are the ingredients used and then "adopt" their own style which is fine as to each his own.

If you were to cook this dish, not only is the taste awesome, the aroma coming from cooking the garnish will float through your kitchen with such a wholesome smell that would make your tummy growl for food gratification.

30 gm Dried Cuttlefish [you know the thin stringy one you use for frying
Seng Kuang/Turnip/Bangkuang]

5 pieces Dried Chillies

Method

Snip the stems of the Dried Chillies & knock off some of the seeds [if you do not want it too spicy]. Wash & soak in hot water for 10 minutes.

Put "A" in a large pot, cover lid & marinade for 4 hours in the fridge.

Remove from fridge & thaw for 30 - 40 minutes.

You can either Deep Fry "A" for 3 minutes in order to seal the juices OR you can straight away do Step No.5 if you are pressed for time. You should do both styles so that you can compare the difference in taste & texture.

Put "B" in the large pot together with "A" & Cook For 25 Minuteson medium low fire & stirring it occassionally to prevent burning.

Add "C" bearing in mind that the amount of water should be slightly higher than the level of the meat, & simmer on medium low fire for 25 - 30 minutes.

IN THE MEANTIME (a) submerge the Dried CUTTLEFISH in vinegar [vinegar just above the level of the Dried Cuttlefish FOR 10 MINUTES ONLY [THIS IS THE SECRET TO MAKE THE DRIED CUTTLEFISH CRISPY] & then place it on a siever to drain off the vinegar; (b) Snip the stems of the dried chillies & knock off some of the seeds. Just wash & soak in hot water for 10 minutes then place on siever to drain off water; (c) HEAT some oil in a frying pan, add the dried cuttlefish & dried chillies together & fry till you can smell the aroma of the dried cuttlefish. Remove & place on kitchen paper napkins to absorb the oil.

Once the meat is cooked, garnish it with the fried dried cuttlefish & dried chillies.

Comments:-

1. *The smoked garlic has some black skin & alot of older folks like me will swear that in some Chinese cooking, the smoked garlic gives an umpph. If you dont have same you can just use garlic.

2. The garnish ie the fried dried cuttlefish is optional and whenever I cook this, most times I omit them.

About Me

Welcome to my blog. Thanks for visiting me. Hope you enjoyed reading and will appreciate any comments from you.I have, Always, been consumed by a burning desire to be an icon first, in baking and then cooking as I always believe that food is the glue that keeps the family together. It was good that I started learning baking more than 20 years ago to destress for now after retiring more than 6 years ago I am able to go full time in doing what I love best; baking and selling my cakes. Anybody can learn how to bake but genuine interest has to come from the heart and if you want your cakes or food to taste good, You have to bake/cook from the heart.